[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 17, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34116-34117]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15185]
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Notices
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 137 / Wednesday, July 17, 2019 /
Notices
[[Page 34116]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2018-0074]
Recognition of Freedom From Citrus Longhorned Beetle and Asian
Longhorned Beetle in Certain European Union Countries
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: We are notifying the public that we propose to update the U.S.
Department of Agriculture Plants for Planting Manual by recognizing 22
European Union Member States as being free from citrus longhorned
beetle (CLB) and Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) and removing them from
the list of countries where CLB and ALB are present. We would also
change the entry conditions in the manual for imports of certain host
plant taxa of CLB and ALB from four of these countries (Belgium,
Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom) because they have
previously approved genera exempted from the category of plants Not
Authorized Pending Pest Risk Analysis. These changes would relieve
certain restrictions on host plants of CLB and ALB from Belgium,
Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom while continuing to
mitigate the risk of introducing quarantine pests into the United
States.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
September 16, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2018-0074.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2018-0074, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may
be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2018-
0074 or in our reading room, which is located in Room 1141 of the USDA
South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC.
Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you,
please call (202) 799-7039 before coming.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Rosemarie Rodriguez-Yanes,
Regulatory Policy Specialist, PHP, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit
137, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851-2313; [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the regulations in ``Subpart H--Plants
for Planting'' (7 CFR 319.37-1 through 319.37-23, referred to below as
the regulations), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits or
restricts the importation of plants for planting (including living
plants, plant parts, seeds, and plant cuttings) to prevent the
introduction of quarantine pests into the United States. Quarantine
pest is defined in Sec. 319.37-2 as a plant pest or noxious weed that
is of potential economic importance to the United States and not yet
present in the United States, or present but not widely distributed and
being officially controlled. In accordance with Sec. 319.37-20, APHIS
may impose quarantines and other restrictions on the importation of
specific types of plants for planting. These restrictions are listed in
the USDA Plants for Planting Manual.\1\ Under Sec. 319.37-20, if APHIS
determines it is necessary to add, change, or remove restrictions on
the importation of a specific type of plant for planting, we will
publish in the Federal Register a notice that announces the proposed
change to the manual and invites public comment.
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\1\ https://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/ports/downloads/plants_for_planting.pdf.
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The citrus longhorned beetle (CLB), Anoplophora chinensis
(Forster), and the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB), Anoplophora
glabripennis (Motschulsky), are destructive polyphagous wood boring
pests and are quarantine pests for the United States.
In 2012, the European Commission (EC) asked APHIS to recognize pest
freedom from CLB and ALB in European Union (EU) Member States based on
equivalence and provided APHIS with supporting information that
included new regulatory requirements, emergency control measures, and
movement control for both species.\2\ In 2015, the EC revised their
regulated CLB and ALB host list to include all the host genera of
concern to APHIS.
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\2\ See ``Commission Implementing Decision 2015/893 for A.
glabripennis (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/uri=CELEX:32015D0893), and Commission Implementing Decision 2012/138
for A. chinensis'' http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/qid=1524250924966&uri=CELEX:32012D0138.
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Based on information provided by the EC, we prepared a commodity
import evaluation document (CIED). In the CIED, we concluded that in
accordance with international provisions \3\ for recognition of pest
free areas and areas of low prevalence, we would recognize specific EU
Member States that are either free from both CLB and ALB or as having
eradicated an infestation of these pests at least 3 years ago.
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\3\ ISPM 29: Recognition of pest free areas and areas of low
pest prevalence. International Plant Protection Convention, 2017:
https://www.ippc.int/static/media/files/publication/en/2017/05/ISPM_29_2007_En_2017-05-25_PostCPM12_InkAm.pdf.
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Accordingly, we propose to update the USDA Plants for Planting
Manual by removing 22 EU Member States from the list of countries where
CLB and ALB are present. However, although these countries are free of
CLB and ALB, we note that this action changes the import requirements
for host plants for these pests for only four of these countries:
Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.\4\ These are
the only EU countries that have previously approved CLB and ALB host
genera that are currently exempt from the category of plants Not
Authorized Pending Pest Risk Analysis, or NAPPRA.\5\
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\4\ Country and individual host taxa are listed in Table 3-3 of
the USDA Plants for Planting Manual. Import requirements for
countries referenced in Table 3-3 and that are free of both CLB and
ALB are located in Table 3-8.
\5\ When a plant is NAPPRA it means that the plant cannot be
imported until a pest risk analysis is requested and completed for
that plant. APHIS exempts imports of plants that are hosts of
quarantine pests from the NAPPRA requirements when there is
significant trade of that plant between the exporting country and
the United States. We continue to allow such importation based on
our experience with importing these plants for planting and our
findings, through inspection, that they are generally pest free.
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[[Page 34117]]
NAPPRA-exempt host taxa of CLB and ALB from Belgium, Denmark, the
Netherlands, and the United Kingdom would be admissible with the
current import permit requirements with a stem or root collar diameter
greater than 10 mm (0.4 inches). The NAPPRA-exempt taxa from these four
EU countries affected by the proposed changes are:
Malus spp. from Belgium;
Hibiscus spp. and Rosa spp. from Denmark;
Non-variegated Acer japonicum, Non Variegated Acer
palmatum, Aralia spp., Carpinus spp., Cercidiphyllum spp., Cercis spp.,
Cornus spp., Corylus spp., Cotoneaster spp., Fagus spp., Ficus spp.,
Hedera spp., Ilex spp., Malus spp., Prunus spp., Robinia spp., Rosa
spp., and Styrax spp. from the Netherlands; and
Rosa spp. and Rubus spp. from the United Kingdom.
Furthermore, these host taxa must also meet the following criteria
for entry into the United States:
The host plants were grown solely on mother stock from
Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom; and
The host plants have never been grown in a country from
which their importation would be prohibited NAPPRA as listed in the
USDA Plants for Planting Manual.
We are only recognizing EU Member States that are free from both
pests, or that eradicated an infestation at least 3 years ago. In our
updated list, the EU Member States that would continue to be listed as
countries where ALB and/or CLB are present are: Austria, Croatia,
Finland, France, Germany, and Italy.
After we review public comments on our proposed changes to the USDA
Plants for Planting Manual, we will publish a second notice to affirm
our proposed changes or to inform persons of any additional changes
with respect to the importation of host plants of CLB and ALB from
Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1633, 7701-7772, and 7781-7786; 21 U.S.C.
136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
Done in Washington, DC, this 11th day of July 2019.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-15185 Filed 7-16-19; 8:45 am]
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